Investec bids to grow in Europe

Investec Asset Management is overhauling its offshore fund range in a bid to become a major player in the European IFA market.

The company began last week with the launch of two new funds – a global equity and global bond fund – within its Investec Select Funds Ucit.

Both funds will be available to IFAs in the UK as well as Europe.

The two funds were established with $438m (£300m) transferred from Investec&#39s Dublin-based international umbrella fund last week. The global equity fund, managed by Investec head of equities Nick Mottram, took $290m (£200m) from the umbrella fund. The global bond fund, managed by head of fixed income Paul Griffiths, received $148m (£100m).

The Select Funds Ucit now holds six funds, with further launches planned within the next four to six weeks.

Investec says it plans to start its European assault in Scandinavia, Holland and Switzerland where the IFA markets are similar to the UK, registration is easier and English is the language of business. But it says it intends eventually to be a presence across the whole continent.

Managing director Jamie MacLeod says: “Until now, we have focused on distributing our funds in the UK, South Africa and Hong Kong and other &#39offshore territories&#39. To meet our growth targets, we are putting a concentrated effort into developing our existing Ucits platform to significantly boost our product offering in continental Europe.”

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